"This is fantastic news for people with bleeding disorders and hepatitis C,” said Gavin Finkelstein, President of Haemophilia Foundation Australia, when the new treatments were made available in 2016. “They have been waiting so long for access to treatment to cure their hepatitis C. Many have seen their liver disease progressing and were despairing. This decision by the Government will change people’s lives and we would like to congratulate Minister Ley for seeing the process through to make these treatments available and affordable to all Australians with hepatitis C.”

The new treatments have high success rates – around 95% across the entire hep C population:

All genotypes 1-3 – oral treatment with tablets, sometimes 1 tablet a day

Shorter treatment courses – usually 8-24 weeks

Fewer and usually only minor side-effects, if any

People with cirrhosis have high cure rates but need specialist care and monitoring.

WHAT IF YOU HAVE A BLEEDING DISORDER?

HFA has had discussions with the Australian Haemophilia Centre Directors’ Organisation (AHCDO) and hepatitis and HIV/HCV co-infection specialists:

Don’t wait for warning signs of liver disease. If you haven’t already had treatment, make your appointment now!

Don’t know where to start? Ask your Haemophilia Treatment Centre for a referral

Do you have hepatitis C? Make an appointment with your hepatitis or liver clinic to discuss your treatment options

Do you have HCV/HIV co-infection? Talk to your HIV or infectious diseases specialist about the new treatments. There may be some HIV drug interactions to take into account as well as other factors, and they will work out the best treatment regime for you

Do you have more advanced liver disease/cirrhosis? People with cirrhosis will need to be referred to a specialist. Talk to your hepatitis or HIV specialist about liaising with your Haemophilia Centre in case of complications

Hard to get to a hepatitis clinic? Talk to your hepatitis clinic or HTC about working with your local doctor or a clinic nearer to you. Hep C treatment can now be prescribed by any doctor or nurse practitioner experienced in hep C treatment, or in liaison with a hepatitis specialist

Be proactive with your appointments and your treatment. If you have an appointment, make sure you keep it if at all possible. If you need to change it, contact your clinic in advance so they can reschedule you. And make sure you complete your course of treatment - don't stop just because you are feeling well or you might not achieve a cure

Make sure you go back for your final results 12 weeks AFTER completing treatment. This will tell you for sure whether your hep C has been cured. These treatments have not reached a 100% cure rate yet and if you have not been cured, you and your doctor will need to look at other treatment options

Worried that this treatment might not work for you? These new treatments cure around 95% of people with hep C. But if you are very unlucky and the first treatment is not successful, you can be referred to a specialist clinic where they will test to find out why the treatment didn't work and then try other treatments that are more likely to be successful. And there are more new treatments in the pipeline to help people in this situation.

And for comprehensive care, let your Haemophilia Treatment Centre know about your liver test results or how your treatment is going to make sure they stay in the loop.